The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez had not taken part of a solar race since 1995, but on August 2012, twenty-nine students accepted the challenge to restart the project with fresh ideas to the new generation of solar-propelled vehicles developed in the university.

This year, our solar vehicle will take part of the American Solar Challenge. It's main event is an 8 day, 1700+ mile road course traveling through 7 states, from Austin, TX to Minneapolis, MN. Our team will be competing with top engineering universities from the United States and all around the world.

The design of the car has been completed and the team is now in the manufacturing and implementation process. We try to do more with less as our resources are scarce. Most of the materials for the car had already been obtained from donations from local sponsors, but we hope to finish the rest of the project with your help!

This is our current schedule:

May 15th: Complete vehicle and initiate testing May 16th-June 26th: Summer testing and fine-tuning June 28th: Prepare vehicle for shipping from Puerto Rico to Texas July 13th: Compete in the 2014 Formula Sun Grand Prix & American Solar Challenge!

The majority of the funds obtained will be used to finish the car and to prepare the team and vehicle for the competition, which include testing materials, strategy preparation, improving on-board controls, transporting the vehicle from Puerto Rico to Texas and back, expenses during the 8-day race, and much more.

To read more about the competition, you may access the American Solar Challenge website:

Risks and challenges

Our main challenge is to manufacture a solar vehicle able to compete with universities with much larger budgets. The whole team is working hard to accomplish this goal using lightweight and strong materials but available at a reasonable price. Our mechanical, electrical and advisory team have plenty of experience from previous races and from the field. All problems found so far during the last 2 years of designing and testing have been solved, and have further improved the design of our vehicle, thanks to our excellent team and our perseverance. We strongly believe that we will be able to overcome any difficulties that arise from the rest of the assembly and testing process with your help!

But that's not all. The team must also be ready to overcome any obstacles that may encounter during the race, like storms, strong wind, fires, and any vehicle failure, either mechanical or electrical (or both!). This is why it is very important to thoroughly test the vehicle as soon as possible. The more resources we have, the more prepared we will be to respond to any setbacks during the competition.

Rewards

$15 reward

$30 reward

Get a SERRT key ring and a team t-shirt! Receive updates on the progress of our car.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2014

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$50 reward

10 backers
All gone!

Get an authentic solar cell used in one of our projects! Receive a SERRT key ring, team t-shirt and updates on the progress of our car.

Estimated delivery:Jun 2014

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$100 reward

11 backers
Limited (19 left of 30)

Get a 1" X 1" piece of the aluminum honeycomb core and carbon fiber composite used in the chassis of our car. Receive updates, photos of the car's progress and previous rewards!

Estimated delivery:Jun 2014

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$500 reward

0 backers
Limited (5 left of 5)

Receive a 3D model of the car! You will also receive updates and photos of the car's progress, a team t-shirt, key chain, a 1" x 1" piece of aluminium honeycomb and carbon fiber composite used on our chases, plus updates and photo's of the car's progress!

Estimated delivery:Jun 2014

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$1,000 reward

3 backers

Adopt a team member! Each adoption will help pay for team member expenses, lodging, uniforms and meals.

Receive a commemorative certificate. The certificate will include the name, a brief biography of the adopted team member, and an acknowledgement. You will also receive all previous rewards signed from your adopted team member!

Estimated delivery:Jun 2014

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$5,000 reward

0 backers
Limited (30 left of 30)

All previous rewards are included, plus an all-expenses paid tour through our university campus, workshop and nearby tourist spots. Join the team for a weekend and visit were everything was built, assembled! Be our guest!

Details will be provided specifically to donors.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

Only ships to: United States

Funding period

May 1, 2014 - May 31, 2014
(30 days)

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